Episode
21 The Road to Gradual (5)
“Aww… … !”
Lester’s scream echoed through the rain.
The blade with its sword energy deployed was digging into Lester’s right thigh.
“My, my legs… … !”
“Don’t be fussy.”
I withdrew my sword.
The magic had already been completely withdrawn.
“It’s not like my leg was cut off.”
“Ugh… … !”
Lester grabbed his thigh and sat down.
It was hard to bear the pain, so his neat face was contorted a lot.
“Eh, Ernas Landsstein, just… … !”
Shaking and shaking, Lester argued and listened to me.
“Did you just wear a sword?! How can you use swordsmanship?!”
“Is that so surprising?”
“This is ridiculous! How… … !”
“Well, it must be hard to believe from your point of view.”
I said looking down at Lester.
“Just because you tried to form a sword and failed.”
“… … !”
“At the most, it seems that most of the magical power acquired by eating Elixir has been lost.”
Lester’s face trembled.
“Yeah, even I, who had been educated in the Lancaster family, failed to form a sword! But how did you succeed in forming the sword?”
Being so angry, Lester was taken aback.
“I bet you, where did you get the Elixir in advance? I gained a lot of magical power from it… … !”
“Not like that. Like you, I just got a red Elixir from the last fight.”
“Well, isn’t that the same amount of magical power as me?!”
“The amount of magical power that can be acquired from Elixir varies from person to person, Lester.”
“… … !”
Lester’s eyes widened.
You understand what I mean.
“I and I succeeded in setting the red Elixir’s magic power by 70% or more. You mean you’ve absorbed more than that?”
“right.”
“Well, it can’t be. Even this Leicester Lancaster, called the gifted, had a limit of 70%, but how could you… … .”
“There are many more talented people in the world than you, Lester.”
“… … !”
Serine’s magic technique is the best among the freshmen in the academy.
Besides, I am the creator who knows everything about the magic of this world.
Therefore, it was possible to set the red Elixir’s magic power more than 90%.
“By the way, wouldn’t it be necessary to start with the bleeding? There is a lot of bleeding.”
“Ugh… … !”
Lester was so obsessed with arguing with me that he forgot to even give first aid to the wound.
“Anyway, it would be impossible to run around the mountain and track the instructor in that state.”
“… … !”
Even if it had enough magical power, it would be impossible in its current state.
“The instructor you just bought is not in this exam hall, so it will be difficult.”
If you fail the first exam, you will be expelled immediately.
Lester Lancaster, heir to the Lancaster family, one of the six great swordsmanship masters, will be expelled from the Academy.
“Yes, man, I was aiming for this from the beginning… … !”
“Weren’t you the same? I don’t think you’re in a position to criticize me.”
“Everyone, shut up… … !”
However, there is nothing Lester can do right now.
“Lester, we had a fair duel. And you are defeated.”
I said in a cold voice.
“If you look miserable with the results… Your father will be angry.”
“… … !”
“Of course, your father will be more enraged by this defeat itself.”
Lester trembled at the mention of his father.
After seeing that, I turned my back.
A mournful voice could be heard from behind, but he did not care any more and left.
* * *
As I was walking alone in the woods, I was lost in thought.
‘With this, Lester is eliminated.’
Lester was the first to drop out among the heirs of the six great swordsmanship masters in the novel.
He tried to step on Acandel, the main character, but eventually got a counterattack and was eliminated from the test.
‘With this, the fight between the six master swordsmen becomes more intense.’
The hexagon, which had maintained a tight balance, began to collapse.
Several families begin to take a full-fledged step, and the Lancaster family begins to struggle with such a downfall.
Eventually, it will develop into a blood clot.
‘You can’t take your life inside the academy, but it doesn’t matter if you cut off a limb.’
Killing another student in the academy is immediate expulsion.
But as long as you don’t take your life, it doesn’t matter how badly injured you are.
As a result of a fair confrontation, the Lichtenauer Swordsmanship Academy was a place that tolerated even maiming the opponent.
‘In order to survive… You must become stronger.’
I entered the beginning of the grade faster than others.
As the first step was quick, if you continue to practice sword skills and become proficient, you can get ahead of others.
However, that alone is not enough.
‘Because the academy has him.’
The blue class 2 ‘prodigy’.
He is said to be the strongest among the heirs of the six great swordsmanship masters.
It is known that he is on par with the ‘gifted’ Lester, but in reality it is not.
The ‘genius of swordsmanship’, who surpassed even the main character, Acandel, was the prodigy of the Blue Class 2.
‘To defeat that guy, the current state is not enough.’
With that thought in mind, I continued walking down the mountain path.
After walking for a while, we arrived at a small valley.
The current was strong because of the rain, and a woman was looking down at it.
“Instructor Annerize.”
“Hey, Ernas.”
Anneliese looked at me with a sleepy look on her face, yawning.
“It’s a little surprising that Ernas is still there.”
“I have work to do.”
“It is.”
She nodded her head as if she knew what he meant.
“In the first exam every year, there are frequent private fights. It’s an opportunity to get other students out of the academy.”
Saying that, Annerise raised her wooden sword.
“then… Shall we start?”
“Aren’t you running away?”
“If it’s Ernas, even if I run away, I’ll follow you right away.”
Anneliese smiled and took a pose.
“Go ahead. I will not look at you.”
“All right.”
Nodding my head, I also took a stance.
“Teach me a lesson, Instructor.”
Today after I got my pass against Anne Rize… will take the next step.
* * *
‘Damn, damn… … !’
While receiving treatment from the instructor, Lester trembled.
Other wounded people were being treated around them, and their curious gaze was so humiliating.
‘To be kicked out of the academy because I failed the first exam… … !’
Even after losing to Ernas, Lester did not give up the exam.
After waking up his entourage Yuser and giving him first aid, he went around looking for the instructor.
However, in the process, the wounds opened, causing heavy bleeding, and exhaustion of stamina.
Lester could not hold it any longer because he had lost his magic power, and in the end, he was carried down by Youser.
“Has the heir of House Lancaster been eliminated?”
“Has there ever been a time when the successor to the 6th great swordsmanship has not passed the first test?”
“I was praised for being called Youngjae… Was it a fake gifted child?”
Every time I heard the noise of the gossip around me, I felt like I was going crazy.
Lester didn’t just come to the academy as an individual.
He entered the Academy as a representative of the Lancaster family, one of the six major swordsmanship masters.
Therefore, Leicester’s elimination is a disgrace to the entire Lancaster family.
‘If your father hears this… … !’
Lester’s father, Henry Lancaster, is a person who values the honor of the family above all else.
Never tolerate a person who taints the family name.
But my real son, who was called ‘Gifted’, dropped out of the academy early… I’m sure you’ll be outraged
‘My, my neck might fly away… … !’
Of course, you wouldn’t be able to cut your son’s head directly.
But you can ask to kill yourself.
It’s because I’ve actually seen the vassals do that a few times.
From Lester’s point of view, even imagining it was terrifying.
‘Damn, that’s all… Because of him Ernas!’
Trembling in fear, Lester cursed Ernas in his heart.
‘If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have been subjected to something like this… … !’
It’s all Ernas’ fault.
Lester sharpened his teeth with that thought in mind.
‘Something was strange! It must have been some kind of trickery!’
Come to think of it, everything was strange.
Whether it was that he had seen Yuser’s stealth technique, or that he had used the Lancaster shortsword technique, or the technique of his sword, it was an incomprehensible mess.
‘Yeah, come to think of it, it was strange that Rufus Ignias was defeated!’
It was clear that something was wrong.
Lester was starting to get caught up in that thought.
If I didn’t think like that, it was difficult to maintain my reason.
‘You can’t leave it like this! I must make sure I get the punishment I deserve!’
When Lester was obsessed with that thought.
Suddenly, the surroundings began to become noisy.
“… … !”
He shook his head, startled.
Professor Calleon Ignias, ‘Yellow Jade Sword’, who was in charge of the first test, was coming this way.
“Leicester Lancaster.”
“Ca, Professor Calleon!”
Lester hurriedly tried to stand up.
But the bandaged thigh hurt, and he frowned.
“It looks like he was seriously injured.”
“Oh, no. There are only a few scratches.”
“It’s just a little scratched and you can’t run the test anymore?”
“Ugh… … .”
After biting his lip to remain silent, Calleon stared at Lester’s thighs.
“I heard from the instructor, but it was a cut with a knife.”
“Ah, that… … .”
“It was a strange thing, so I came to check it out myself. There must be no one in the mountains with a knife right now, so what happened?”
“… … !”
Hearing that question, Lester realized why Calleon had come.
I thought he was coming to mock himself for being rejected, but as the person in charge of this test, he seemed to have come to confirm the truth.
“that is… … .”
“Tell me the truth.”
“So, sword… … .”
That moment.
A thought ran through Lester’s mind.
“Car, Professor Calleon!”
Lester forgot the pain in his leg and got up.
“Ernas Landsstein had a true sword! That guy stabbed me with a real sword!”
This was a cemetery.
Ernas is now in possession of a true sword.
It is a violation of school rules to secretly carry a sword, and if caught, there is no choice but to be punished.
He could give Ernas a shot.
“It is a sword disguised as a wooden sword! Examine the sword he’s holding and you’ll find out soon!”
Of course, the sword was originally from Lester.
Still, it is clear that Ernas is carrying a true sword now.
We have to dig into that point and make Ernas a heavy punishment.
‘You idiot! If I hadn’t coveted my sword, this wouldn’t have happened!’
Even Ernas wounded another student with a sword.
If done well, expulsion may be possible.
“Professor Caleon! Even though I have to leave the academy, I can’t stand a guy like that wandering around the academy! Come on before the other students get hurt any more… … .”
“It’s strange.”
At that moment, Calleon interrupted Lester.
“It’s different from what Ernas was talking about.”
“yes?”
“Recently, Hassan Han Ernas turned himself in.”
“embroidery… … ?”
embroidery.
What did that mean?
“He said that he injured another student with the sword. And he gave us a short sword.”
“yes… … ?”
“It was said that it happened during the process of confiscating the sword that another student was hiding, but he said that he would be punished because it was true that he had committed a mistake. With my head down.”
“… … .”
“You said that Ernas is hiding the true sword, but Ernas voluntarily submitted the true sword. Isn’t it strange?”
Lester felt choked.
I didn’t understand at all.
Wasn’t it because the sword of Supert’s Workshop was coveted and stolen?
Why did you voluntarily submit it?
Is there any risk of being punished?
‘Ernas… What the hell were you drawing?’
What was Ernas Landsstein’s plot?
I really don’t know.
It is full of the unknown.
But one thing is clear.
That’s right… … .
“I think a detailed investigation is necessary.”
“Kar, Professor Calleon… … .”
“If the investigation reveals a problem that cannot be overlooked… I will notify the Lancaster family.”
“… … !”
Leicester Lancaster was in the worst position.
It seemed so obvious.